Method for Wagering in Blackjack

ABSTRACT

A side wager for a standard blackjack game. After a player is dealt his initial two cards, if the two cards comprise a straight, the player is paid. Different ranks of straights can have different payouts. Suited straights can pay more than non-suited straights. Lower ranking straights can have higher payoffs than higher ranking straights.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of provisional application 60/805,091,filed on Jun. 19, 2006, which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present inventive concept relates to a wagering game, and moreparticularly to a game which adds a side wager to a regular game ofblackjack.

2. Description of the Related Art

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games. Optional side bets toblackjack have been developed which can increase player entertainmentand generate additional revenue for the casino. However, most side betshave not been very popular with players.

What is needed is new side bet for blackjack that players will be eagerto play.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide an exciting side betfor the game of blackjack.

The above aspects can be obtained by a method that includes (a)receiving a main wager and a side wager; (b) dealing a player two cards;(c) determining if the two cards comprise a straight; (d) if the twocards comprise a straight, then paying the player an award, (e) whereinif the straight is unsuited then the award is a first amount, if thestraight is suited, then the award is a second amount, the second amountbeing higher than the first amount; and (f) continuing the blackjackgame.

The above aspects can also be obtained by a method that includes (a)receiving a main wager and a side wager; (b) dealing a player two cards;(c) determining if the two cards comprise a straight; (d) if the twocards comprise a straight, then paying the player an award based on theside wager, (e) wherein if the straight is a first rank then the awardis a first amount, if the straight is a second rank, then the award is asecond amount, the second amount being different than the first amount;and (f) continuing the blackjack game.

These together with other aspects and advantages which will besubsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as thestructure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention,will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of implementing aside wager, according to an embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to likeelements throughout.

The present general inventive concept relates to a method, system, andcomputer readable storage which allows a casino to offer to players aside bet in conjunction with a typical (or non-standard) blackjack game.The side bet is simple to learn and does not interfere with the standarddealing of a blackjack game.

A player can place an optional side wager alongside a standard blackjackwager, as known in the art. For example, a main betting circle is usedto receive a player's main wager and a smaller betting circle alongsidethe main betting circle can be used to receive a player's optional sidewager (or other methods of receiving side wagers, such as using squarebetting areas, etc.) A blackjack table may be able to accommodatemultiple players (e.g. 7) and thus would have 2 betting circles perplayer (one for the main wager and one for the side wager), for a totalof 14 betting circles (of course any reasonable number of players can beaccommodated). The dealer then deals the players' cards (of coursetypically blackjack tables can accommodate many players such as 7). Thedealer can then inspect the player's cards, and the dealer can theninstantly resolve any side wager(s) placed. Alternatively, the dealercan resolve the side wagers at any other point in the game (e.g. afterthe player has decided hit/stand and after the dealer has played out hisor her hand).

A straight is well known in poker and comprises a hand with consecutivecards (e.g. a 2 spades 3 clubs 4 clubs 5 hearts 6 diamonds is anon-suited straight).

In an embodiment, if the player's two initial cards comprise a straight(both cards have ranks that are consecutive), then the player wins apayout. An ace can form a straight with both a 2 and a King (in otherwords the ace is both low and high). Certain two card straights may paymore than others. For example, if the straight is suited, then it canpay more than if the same card ranks were non-suited. Also, somestraight ranks may pay more than others. For example, lower rankingstraights can pay more than higher ranking straights (although in analternate embodiment, the opposite can be true).

Table I illustrates five sample paytables (any one of these five can bechosen by the house according to their preferences) of two cardcombinations and their payouts. Of course, this table is just oneexample of potential payouts, and other combinations and/or payouts canbe used as well. For example, if the player is initially dealt anunsuited 2 and 3, then according to paytable II, the player would getpaid 6 times the player's initial bet. Thus, if the player bet $1 on theside wager, and got an unsuited 2 and 3, then the player would win $6and would also receive back his or her original $1 wager. As anotherexample, if the player bet $2 on the side wager, and the casino wasusing paytable V, and if the player was dealt a 4 hearts/5 hearts, thenthe player would win $40 ($2 times 20). If the player does not get a“lucky straight” (a winning hand such as those listed in Table I), thenthe player loses the side bet and the dealer collects the bet.

Players would typically be required to make the main blackjack wager inorder to play the side wager. The main blackjack wager would be resolvedaccording to known rules of blackjack.

TABLE I paytable Unsuited paytable I paytable II paytable III paytableIV V 2–3 7 6 10 9 8 4–5 or 5–6 4 4 5 5 5 All others 2 2 2 2 2 Suited 5x5x 4x 4x 4x 2–3 35 30 40 36 32 4–5 or 5–6 20 20 20 20 20 All others 1010 8 8 8

Note that the suited straight pays more than the non-suited hand of thesame rank, because the probability of getting a suited straight is ofcourse lower. Straights can be ranked by their high card, for example a2/3 straight can be considered to have a rank of 3. Also note thatcertain straights (e.g. 2/3) pay more than others. This adds moreexcitement to the game since players can win a varied amount.

It is also noted that a card counter would have difficulty trying tobeat this side bet. Card counters typically raise their bet when theremaining deck is rich in large cards (e.g. 10 valued cards). However,in the side wager described herein, smaller cards such as 5 arefavorable to the side wager, since 5 is involved in two high payinghands (4/5 and 5/6). Thus a card counter would not be betting high whenthe deck was rich in 5's, yet this would favor the side wager. The housemay require the player to bet no more on the side wager than the playerbets on the standard blackjack wager. Thus, the player would havedifficulty beating the side wager by card counting, since to bet more onthe side wager would mean to bet more on the main game which would be tothe player's disadvantage. The high and highest payoffs are for thosehands using 2-6, and these payoffs would be more likely in a deck richin low cards which is precisely the deck unfavorable to the mainblackjack wager. Thus, some players may wish to play this side bet inorder to “hedge” their main blackjack wager, since when the remainingdeck composition contains a high proportion of small cards, it will putthe main blackjack wager at a disadvantage but will favor the sidewager.

Players who like to pay attention to the cards dealt may also enjoytrying to keep track of whether more high cards or low cards have beenplayed (either through card counting or casual observation). Suchplayers may then try to make the side bet when they feel the deck wouldbe rich in low cards.

In a further embodiment, optional payouts can be provided to players forconsecutive winning hands. For example, if the player gets two or threeconsecutive winning side wagers in a row, the player may win a bonus.For example, if the player gets two (or three) consecutive 2/3 (suitedor nonsuited) hands, the player wins a bonus. For three consecutivesuited 2/3 hands, the player can win a progressive jackpot.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of implementing aside wager, according to an embodiment.

The method can start with operation 100, which receives the mainblackjack wager and an optional side wager from the player. The sidewager can be placed in a side wager betting circle alongside a mainbetting circle for the standard blackjack bet. The side wager istypically optional although it can also be required. Typically, thehouse may require that the side wager be an amount less than thestandard blackjack wager, although in an alternative embodiment this maynot be required.

The method can proceed to operation 102, which deals the player's twoinitial cards and the dealer's two cards.

The method can proceed to operation 104, which resolves the side wagerbased on the player's two initial two cards. A paytable such as thoseillustrated in Table V can be used to determine if a hand is a winnerand how much it should pay. Winning wagers can be paid and losing wagerscan be collected.

The method can then proceed to operation 106, which continues theblackjack game normally.

It is noted that these operations can be performed in any sensibleorder. For example, the resolving of the side wager (operation 104) canalso occur after operation 106 (when the entire game is resolved).

A three card version can also be implemented on a blackjack game whichuses the dealer's upcard (or downcard) as the third card. A three cardversion would have winning payouts similar to the two card payouts, butthree card straights would win (e.g. suited would be pay than nonsuited, certain ranks would pay more, etc., similar to Table I).

The method described herein can also be applied to other games besidesblackjack in which two or more cards are displayed.

Also the side wager described herein can also be implemented in anelectronic format, such as on an electronic gaming device (EGD) oronline.

Any embodiments described herein can be played with a standard deck ofcards or any type of special deck (e.g. a Spanish deck, etc.) The gamecan also be played with a single deck or multiple decks (e.g. 1-8 decksor more). Standard rules of blackjack can be used as well as any knownvariation of blackjack. Further, the order of any of the operationsdescribed herein can be performed in any order and wagers can beplaced/resolved in any order. Any embodiments herein can also be playedin electronic form and programs and/or data for such can be stored onany type of computer readable storage medium (e.g. CD-ROM, DVD, disk,etc.)

The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from thedetailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claimsto cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, sincenumerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilledin the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exactconstruction and operation illustrated and described, and accordinglyall suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fallingwithin the scope of the invention.

1. A method to resolve a side wager for a blackjack game, the methodcomprising: receiving a main wager and a side wager; dealing a playertwo cards; determining if the two cards comprise a straight; if the twocards comprise a straight, then paying the player an award based on theside wager, wherein if the straight is unsuited then the award is afirst amount, if the straight is suited, then the award is a secondamount, the second amount being higher than the first amount; andcontinuing the blackjack game.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein the second amount is a multiple of the first amount.
 3. Themethod as recited in claim 1, wherein the award varies depending on arank of the straight.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, whereinwinning two card combinations comprise the following: non suitedstraights comprising non suited A/2; non suited 2/3; non suited 3/4; nonsuited 4/5; non suited 5/6; non suited 6/7; non suited 7/8; non suited8/9; non suited 9/10; non suited 10/J; non suited J/Q; non suited Q/K;non suited K/A; and suited straights comprising suited A/2; suited 2/3;suited 3/4; suited 4/5; suited 5/6; suited 6/7; suited 7/8; suited 8/9;suited 9/10; suited 10/J; suited J/Q; suited Q/K; suited K/A, whereinthe award is higher for all of the suited straights than the sameranking nonsuited straights.
 5. The method as recited in claim 4,wherein the award for non suited 4/5 is higher than the award for nonsuited 9/10.
 6. A method to resolve a side wager for a blackjack game,the method comprising: receiving a main wager and a side wager; dealinga player two cards; determining if the two cards comprise a straight; ifthe two cards comprise a straight, then paying the player an award basedon the side wager, wherein if the straight is a first rank then theaward is a first amount, if the straight is a second rank, then theaward is a second amount, the second amount being different than thefirst amount; and continuing the blackjack game.
 7. The method asrecited in claim 6, wherein if the straight is suited, then the awardpays more than if the straight is not suited.
 8. The method as recitedin claim 6, wherein if the straight is suited, then the award pays amultiple of a corresponding award of the straight were not suited. 9.The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the award for non suited 4/5is higher than the award for non suited 9/10.
 10. A method to resolve aside wager for a blackjack game, the method comprising: receiving a mainwager and a side wager; dealing a player two cards; determining if thetwo cards comprise a two card straight; if the two cards comprise a twocard straight, then paying the player an award based on the side wager;and continuing the blackjack game.
 11. A method as recited in claim 10,wherein the determining determines whether the two cards are one of:2/3; 3/4; 4/5; 5/6; 6/7; 7/8; 8/9; 9/10; 10/J; J/Q; Q/K, and if so thenthe player wins the side wager otherwise the player loses.
 12. A methodas recited in claim 10, wherein the determining determines whether thetwo cards are one of: A/2; 2/3; 3/4; 4/5; 5/6; 6/7; 7/8; 8/9; 9/10;10/J; J/Q; Q/K, and if so then the player wins the side wager otherwisethe player loses.
 13. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein thedetermining determines whether the two cards are one of: 2/3; 3/4; 4/5;5/6; 6/7; 7/8; 8/9; 9/10; 10/J; J/Q; Q/K; K/A; and if so then the playerwins the side wager otherwise the player loses.
 14. A method as recitedin claim 10, wherein the determining determines whether the two cardsare one of: A/2; 2/3; 3/4; 4/5; 5/6; 6/7; 7/8; 8/9; 9/10; 10/J; J/Q;Q/K; K/A, and if so then the player wins the side wager otherwise theplayer loses.
 15. A method as recited in claim 11, wherein if the twocards are suited then the player wins a higher award than if the twocards were not suited.
 16. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein ifthe two cards are suited then the player wins a higher award than if thetwo cards were not suited.
 17. A method as recited in claim 13, whereinif the two cards are suited then the player wins a higher award than ifthe two cards were not suited.
 18. A method as recited in claim 14,wherein if the two cards are suited then the player wins a higher awardthan if the two cards were not suited.